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VOA's Extensive Coverage of Summit in Singapore Receives Worldwide Attention


VOA's Nike Ching
VOA's Nike Ching

Hundreds of live reports and hundreds of thousands of views online were some of the highlights of VOA's comprehensive coverage of the historic summit between the U.S. and North Korea in Singapore. VOA's extensive affiliate network also meant that VOA reporting showed up on hundreds of local TV stations all over the world. VOA's unique worldwide reach even allowed coverage of the event to be seen inside North Korean, allowing North Koreans to stay informed about the historic meeting.

Greta Van Susteren, VOA contributor and host of Plugged In, was granted a five-minute interview with President Trump, and the interview got over 250,000 views on Facebook and was used by many major news outlets because of President Trump's statement about Kim's relationship with the North Korean people: "Well, I think you have somebody that has a great feeling for them. He wants to do right by them."

VOA's coverage of the entire summit received 260,000 interactions and 4.5 million video views on Facebook, nearly half a million of which were watched live. The increased interaction was also seen on the website, which received 13% more visits than the daily average.

Extensive coverage of the summit was provided by VOA's many different language divisions. Across the board, the services provided extensive, extended coverage of the summit. The Africa division interviewed many notable experts, including Rwandan legal scholar Frank Mwine, Zimbabwe member of parliament Kindness Paradze, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Herman Cohen. The division also translated President Trump's interview into French, Somali, Portuguese, and Hausa.

Van Susteren's interview with the President was also translated into 9 languages by the East Asia and Pacific division (EAP). Live broadcasts from reporters at the summit and 60 articles and 40 videos were posted by VOA Mandarin, and VOA's English to Asia division also featured an interview with former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson, an expert on North Korea.

The South and Central Asia division's coverage also included live interviews with experts, including Robert A. Manning of the Atlantic Council, VOA Korean staffer Euna Lee, and Azeri activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.

The Eurasia division provided 24/7 live coverage updates for the Russian-language Current Time TV Network as well as a simultaneous translation of President Trump's press conference. The original reporting by the division was featured on more than 80 national and regional TV affiliates in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, and the Balkans.

The Latin American division also provided extensive TV coverage. The Spanish service produced 9 television packages between Friday, June 9, and Tuesday, June 12, as well as more than a dozen radio packages and 112 live, on-site reports.

In Iran, the nuclear issue was front and center, and reporting focused on how the U.S. is dealing with nations like Iran that have nuclear ambitions. VOA's Persian service extended their reporting to include live continuous coverage of the meetings, including a translation of the interview with President Trump.

Throughout the summit, VOA staff worked tirelessly to bring information about the event to people all over the world.

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